I remember that the USDA went after soring in the 1970's, over 40 years ago.  But, alas, these TWH trainers and riders like the artificial way of going, and they are too proud of themselves to change.

Whenever people go after the high front end action they run into a problem, except for very, very, very few horses most horses just don't pick their feet high enough naturally.  Then come in the weights in the shoes, the looong hooves (using lots of pads if needed), the soring and other objectionable training methods.

And I fear that the same thing will happen in competitive dressage.  The abusive use of Rollkur is just the beginning, soon there will be a horse with just a little more dramatic front action and all the other trainers and riders will try certain other "new" methods of increasing front action, and someday, inevitably, all the old techniques for high action will be used, just so they can win.

Since the dressage riders have not revolted against this, it is inevitable, just look at the TWH's, ASB's, Shetland ponies, and Hackneys.  No one protested when it started and now even the US government cannot get these people to quit.  If horsemen never protest it grows and grows, because these horses WIN and winning is everything.

Maybe part of the problem is that it is the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders and EXHIBITORS Association.

I noticed in the Arab breed, in the 1970's and 1980's that the big, big, big name trainers just took over. The accepted type and conformation of the breed was changed to please the trainers, the most prized bloodlines were changed to please these trainers' speculation in horses, and the methods of training and riding were changed so that these trainers would win every time. The older American Arabs, wonderful horses, were not considered "good enough" (and they still are not considered "good enough"), the older American methods of riding and training Arabs all of a sudden were not "good enough" to win, and now the Arabian show horse is turning people off to Arabs. Who in the world would want to ride an Arabian halter winner nowadays?

So the big trainers, big breeders, and main judges in every breed control everything. This is fine as long as these big name people only support humane training, riding, and showing methods. But when their attentions get fixated on a detail or two, there goes the breed, it ends up so that only the people who buy into the abusiveness are customers for horses of that breed.

We are the only ones left who can do anything, and if we are not rich no one listens to us.

Of course, if they wanted to, the people with big bucks who own and show the top horses suddenly adopted practices of good horsemanship everything would be changed tomorrow. Trainers with no horses loose influence, riders who do not win WILL change their riding to win just so they can get that blue ribbon or championship cup.

I do not hold out much hope.

Hi

I find everything said here so far to have huge merit!!! Good on all of you for standing up and saying it like it is.

I have been in both riding and racing, and have seen the good bad and the ugly for many years.  A member in my youth of a few protection clubs/agencies in my area, and a long time fighter for the cause of horses, and in particular the stb breed. 

Gaited horses have long suffered people's missuse, as have arabs, in our area there was a huge farm that went world wide and bought a stud that was supposed to be so 'great', and made a huge mostly bull claims about his 'greatness', they gave a partially true history about being imported from rare this and rare that from egypt.  The get from him were underpar, their conformation was substandard, they were the worst rep. of the breed, and gave arabs a bad name in this area that they have not shook to this day.  They so flooded the market with these horses that there were almost no other horses in compition, and so as time went by when the young horses from this sire were proven to be useless and more and more ended up going for slaughter the truth finally showed through.  These people were not in it for the good of the arab like they sold themselves, they were in it for money and that was all.  Horses and people alike suffered from greed and the scam.

What happens to the stb is worse than even that, as they are abused from the day they are broken to the day they are die for the most part.  Stb trainers/drivers are not kind, and most have no love for the horse. Couple that with high costs of keeping horses, and poor attitudes towards this 'throw-away' breed, and you have a recipe for disaster for the stb individual.  If they bow down and do all that they are asked then they are broken quickly, but if not than their lives are hell, if the are the type to lay down as yearlings, they will be kicked and beaten, or tied to a truck/gait and dragged.  If they kick than it is a whip and their tails tied and a kicking chain/strap, if they refuse for any reason-- than it a beating they will get 98% of the time.  Even the softer trainers will go at a horse if they do no 'toe the line' as it is seen as a horse that will not try on the track once racing for any of these infractions.  If they do make the track than many (stb people are starting to realise that turn out is important finally), stb's never get out of their stall except to jog/train/race.  The practice of walking them has almost gone, so they are not allowed to bond with anyone.  If they fail to 'try' on the track than some really horrible practices will be used including electrocution, putting a bag over their head and beating them with whips, chains and prods, and lately a few horsemen have been harnessing them lifting them off the ground with a tractor bucket, with a bag over there head and proding them while they hit them with a whip and yell as if they are in a race.  Never mind the countless people I know that when they train their horse each week start whipping as soon as the hit the 3/4 pole to 'make them come home faster'.  The abuse shoeing, and in the barn is just as bad for many of these horses.  The amount of wierd and dangerous things that they are pre-raced with is horrifying, and if you think that once they leave racing it gets better-- not on your life.  The end result for most is the killers, for the rest the menonites get them and they are used and abused until they are so ruined and broken that they are then sent to the killers, at times I think that it would be kinder for these horses to simply go straight to the killers and avoid the missuse by the menonites.  A vet I know once said on that subjec it was like one drop of blood at a time instead of a 'quick' end!!! this after he stepped in a rescused 4 horses from a menonite.

For the very few they end up with riding people for lesson horses, and private horses, companion horses, these are the lucky few.

Not all stb horses are abused, there are a few good stb owners out there, but they are few.  Even the ones that see themselves as kind are really not... they are just less cruel than their neighbours! 

The attitude towards this noble and kind breed of athleate is that they are throwayway horses, even those that spend huge sums see it this way. 

After years of working with horses I have come to the conclusion that each breed is abused in some pretty horrible ways, but that the race horse world is pretty much up their in the abuse arena!!!

Anyone that speaks up against abuse has my support, good on you, keep it up.  While you can really only affect change one horse at a time, at least your voices are being lent to the issue.  It is better than not trying at all.

In barn of three I have a horse that saw six weeks of abuse as a yearling to get him ready for a sale, when we got him his mouth was bloody from the colt bit, and he has scars on his ears from twitches, and a bad attitude towards strangers that he has never lost-- he is four, a horse that saw the strung up in the harness and beaten and proded method, that was almost dead due to lack of proper vet care, and who hated life so much that he had given up and was ready to die, and a new horse that was loved by his breeders and first owners, but sold due to his lack of effort to people who did something (abuse of some sort we don't know what) and while he did go on to race for them, he now is a run away, and flinches at every movement anyone makes and is ready to bolt at the least sound, like a vet who has seen deadly combat for to long.  This was the same horse that for the orriginal owner was driven all over their farm by a 6 year old child, he is so not safe now from fear that only my husband can jog him in our barn... my dream is that someday I will not be buying horses that have seen so much abuse, and that people will respect all breeds-- and my breed of choice the standardbred- with kindness and respect for the great creatures they are.  I won't hold my breath though!  

and the second is of Che in a qualifying race behind the gate, he is horse in the middle-- the biggest one lol

Deb, to bad you are not located in Atlantic Canada, I would love to work under you!

I noticed as I started showing with people from different circuits, that the attitudes of the people are just, terrible. There is no "oh we tried", for the most part the girls are mostly, "Oh My God! That judge is blind. I did so much better than HER. blah blah blah." The attitude is win or nothing. And when winning is top priority, other things get over looked.

Emiry, also love your pic!!!